Former minister held in Brazil graft probe, say prosecutors
SAO PAULO — Brazilian police on Monday arrested Antonio Palocci, a former finance minister and senior figure in the past two governments, as part of the Petrobras corruption probe, prosecutors said.Palocci, 55, served as finance minister under former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and as chief of staff for his successor Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached this month.Palocci was also a key figure in the leftist Workers’ Party.Like Lula, he has joined the long list of top officials accused of taking part in a huge corruption scheme linked to state oil company Petrobras."He was detained in Sau Paulo on a temporary detention order for five days and must leave today for Curitiba," the southern city where a judge is leading the probe, an official in the state prosecution service said.Palocci was arrested on suspicion of being linked to bribes paid by the construction company Odebrecht, one of the main firms involved in the huge Petrobras pay-to-play scandal.Evidence from emails and mob...
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